A PENSIONER escaped death when his smoke alarm alerted a care line during a fire at his home.

Firefighters found the man trapped and unconscious in his smoke-filled flat on the ninth floor of Metchley House, in Bantock Way, Harborne.

The man, believed to be in his 70s, was discovered on the floor of the living room after he was overcome by smoke from the fire, which started in the fridge at 5.30am yesterday.

Paramedics treated the man at the scene and he was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in a serious condition.

Phil James, of West Midlands Fire Service, said: “The man had a smoke alarm which alerted a care line, which informed the emergency services.

“Four firefighters with breathing apparatus broke down the door to the flat which had become heavily smoke logged.

“It would have been a different story if the man had not had a smoke alarm and without the fast action of fire crews and the excellent work of the paramedics.

“This fire was caused by an electrical item, however it reminds people that smoke alarms save lives.”

More than 20 firefighters tackled the blaze at its height.

A casualty handling area was set up on the eighth floor of the ten-storey building but there were no other injuries. Residents living in adjoining flats were treated for smoke inhalation but there was not a full evacuation.